The overall aims of this proposal are to use biological, biochemical and genetic techniques to determine the biosynthetic mechanisms of the cornea's structural macromolecules and how they are altered in diseased states. Somatic cell hybridization investigations will be utilized to localize the abnormalities of the genes responsible for these macromolecules. Finally, detailed biochemical analysis of the structure and interaction of these macromolecules in the normal and diseased cornea will be correlated with the cell culture studies to arrive at a working understanding of the cornea.